Here T could be an array or a single object. How can add the array to an arraylist or add a single object to the same arraylist. This gives me a build-time error that the overloaded match for AddRange has invalid arguments.
T loadedContent;
if (typeof(T).IsArray)
{
contentArrayList.AddRange(loadedContent);
}
else
{
contentArrayList.Add(loadedContent);
}
EDIT: Corrected my answer after checking some of the rules around casting to type Array.
All specific types of arrays, such as int[], string[], or MyCustomObject[] derive from the base Array class, and as such, they implement the ICollection interface, which is what the ArrayList.AddRange method accepts as a parameter.
Assuming that your contentArrayList variable is an ArrayList object, you should be able to cast your loadedContent variable to ICollection:
contentArrayList.AddRange((ICollection)loadedContent)
Alternatively, you could combine the check for whether it is an array with the cast:
Array loadedContentAsArray = loadedContent as Array;
if (loadedContentAsArray != null)
{
contentArrayList.AddRange(loadedContentAsArray);
}
T parameter to ensure it implements ICollection Example: where T : ICollectionThe solution provided by Dr. Wily's Apprentice will work but I would like to make some side comments.
You must have design issue in your code if you use generics but you are still committed to a specific data type. Basically you destroy the purpose of the generics, as stated on MSDN:
Generics allow you to define type-safe data structures, without committing to actual data types.
Maybe you should reconsider some refactoring, maybe by adding methods with different parameters or something...
If your contentList is of Type ArrayList, I would go that way.
ICollection contentArray = loadedContent as ICollection;
if (contentArray != null)
contentList.AddRange(contentArray);
else
contentList.Add(loadedContent);
ContentManagerdeal with it.